


matchmaker

by mmchiaki



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, also they're gay and dumb, idk i mentioned sarai but only like once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 01:14:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17012748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmchiaki/pseuds/mmchiaki
Summary: my gift exchange for @moonshadowelvess on tumblr!





	matchmaker

**Author's Note:**

  * For [moonshadowelvess](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=moonshadowelvess).



   To the untrained eye, Soren and Ezran do not click. Sure, they’re nice to each other, and on friendly terms, but they really have nothing in common. That’s where the untrained eye is wrong. Soren and Ezran have two things, two insignificant yet extremely powerful things in common that build a bond stronger than steel. Jelly tarts and gossip.  
   Most Saturday evenings you can find the two in the kitchens, emptying the castle’s supply of jelly tarts and gossiping about you name it- Lord Viren’s new hideous brooch, new trends that look like they jumped out of a swamp, Rayla’s obvious crush on Claudia, and such. Rayla’s crush seems to come up a lot with the two, likely because it’s obvious enough that even a blind man could see it. Some days they talk about how sweet it is that Rayla’s warming up to the other humans. Some days they talk about how annoying it is that Rayla herself doesn’t seem to notice how hard she’s following for the raven-haired girl. On days when Callum joins them, they talk about how much the two have changed each other. On the rare days when King Harrow joins them, he reminisces on his early days with Sarai, when they were young and in love. They remind me of us, he’d say. I just hope they can have each other longer than I had her. This always makes them go quiet. Not in a bad way, but in a way that hung over their heads like a dark cloud. Hovering, a storm long over but threatening more downpour.  
   "I just wish they'd get together a little bit faster." Callum commented one day, pulling a jelly tart in half. "But they're both more oblivious than a goldfish." He took an abnormally large bite out of the bigger piece. Ezran piped up, his legs dangling off the table. “Maybe if we just invite them to the tea party grand opening of my treehouse, they’ll notice each other.” His voice was filled with the naivety of a young child, but it got the gears in Soren’s brain to churn for the first time in years.  
   “Ezran, I really hope you’re kidding, we can’t force them to realize they like each other by shoving them in a treehouse for an hour.” Callum said, brushing off his younger brother the way all older siblings do.  
   “Ez, you’re a genius!” Soren cried. All he got back was a confused look from Callum and an incredibly pleased look from Ezran. “Everyone knows that the best way to get two oblivious idiots together is to shove them in a small room for a prolonged amount of time!”  
   “Rayla isn’t an idiot.”  
   “I didn’t know you knew what prolonged means.”  
   Soren frowned. “This’ll work. Trust me. Tell King Harrow the plan, and I can promise you Rayla and Claudia will be together just like that.” He snapped his fingers to accentuate his idea. “Isn’t it a little weird you’re trying to get your sister together with one of your friends?” Callum asked. “Yeah, like she wasn’t the one that played matchmaker with me and Marcos. This is payback.” Soren said with a slight flip of his hair. Callum looked to Ezran, who shrugged. “I’m okay with it.” He said. Callum grinned. “Let’s do this!” He shouted, fist pumping in the air.

   “So tell me, Ez, how is it you convinced me to go to a tea party when I don’t even like tea?” Rayla asked, being pulled to the big Beech tree on the top of an incredibly steep hill. Even using the stairs the King had built, Rayla felt her legs grow more and more exhausted. Somehow, Ezran wasn’t fazed. He really did have strong legs. “Because tea parties don’t only have tea, silly. There’ll be cakes and jelly tarts and cookies, and Dad made the kitchen make healthy food too so we wouldn’t get sick, so we have sandwiches and those ants-on-a-log snacks, and-” Rayla cut him off in the middle of his tangent. “Stop, you’re makin’ my mouth water!” She laughed. The pair chatted about whatever came to mind on their trek- Bait’s new strange habits, Zym growing too big for a high chair, anything. When Rayla had pulled herself up the ladder to Ezran’s new spacious treehouse, her heart danced.  
   Claudia was seated just across from the door at a brown table almost completely covered with food of all kinds. Any other day, Rayla’s eyes would be focused on the snacks, but today her priorities were a little different. Like usual, Claudia wore a black dress with gold accents, but today she had changed her usual outfit. The dress had thin shoulder straps and a neckline highlighted in gold. She wore a gold choker with a moon-shaped charm around her neck and wore several small rings. She had absolutely taken Ezran’s invitation seriously. Rayla, on the other hand, wore her normal Moonshadow Assassin clothing, minus the hooded vest and the belt. Claudia’s outfit made Rayla feel plain. When Claudia noticed Ezran had returned with the missing guest, she grinned. Rayla especially liked the way her eyes crinkled when she truly smiled.  
“Looks like you found our lost puppy! I’ve been just dying waiting for you to come back!” She said cheerfully. The gold combined with her beauty made her comparable to the Sun, or the brightest star in the galaxies beyond. Rayla felt blinded by her shining eyes and pure intent, and considered turning back. But, she was incredibly stubborn, and chose to take her seat instead. Ezran had somehow ran to the seat next to Callum in the incredibly short amount of time Rayla took to bask in Claudia’s beauty, leaving the only one empty seat- the one next to Claudia. I’m screwed. Rayla thought, exasperated but still unable to turn away. She took her seat quickly and averted eye contact with Claudia, something she absolutely should not have done.  
   Rayla never could get her head around why her heart sped up when Claudia was around. Maybe she needed to see a doctor. Maybe her lack of sleep was getting the best of her. Either way, her heart was pounding and her face was flushing when Claudia braced herself against her shoulder while laughing her lungs out at some joke Soren had made. She tried to distract herself by taking a sip of the Moonberry juice King Harrow had made sure to provide for her. She must have subconsciously tensed up, and Claudia seemed to take notice of this. Her hand flew off her shoulder in an instant. Rayla felt a twinge where her hand was, and almost missed the feeling of Claudia leaning on her. Oh, for the Moon’s sake. This is bad. Rayla may be slightly oblivious, but she isn’t completely dumb. Her mind raced with panic and profanity. It took her a moment to remember where she was and what she was doing. When she came to her senses, she reached out to her glass and held it against her lips, not emptying it, just frozen. Think, Rayla. But what was she supposed to be thinking? What was she supposed to be doing? Well, for one thing, she certainly wasn’t going to tell Callum. He’d either blab to Claudia or make fun of her ‘til the end of the world, or both! She didn’t know Soren well enough, and she’d have to have a death wish to tell the King. Ezran was left, but he wasn’t the best with secrets. _Shit._ Rayla was just going to have to sit on this until the end of time, huh.

   The food was excellent, the conversation was excellent, Claudia was more than satisfied by the outcome of Ezran’s tea party. But, one thing lingered on her mind. When she leaned against Rayla, someone she considered to be a close friend, she felt Rayla’s whole body tense up. Claudia’s excuse was she wasn’t used to touch, but something in the back of her mind said she was wrong. She wanted to talk to her about it, but she feared it would scare Rayla away. Personal matters weren’t the girl’s strong suit. Fortunately and unfortunately, Claudia’s curiosity always got the best of her. While climbing down the ladder, she decided to confront Rayla at sundown. She genuinely wanted to help, and she hoped Rayla would understand that.  
   She was impatient, but managed to restrain herself. She asked Rayla to meet her on a remote castle balcony- far away from prying eyes and prying ears. She was fifteen minutes early, but that didn’t bother her in the slightest. If patience wasn’t her forte, why should she pretend? Rayla was five minutes early, which surprised her a bit, because she really wasn’t known for her punctuality. Rayla stared at Claudia once she arrived, the orange-pink tones of the sunset glittering against her skin. She looked like a goddess on Earth, beautiful beyond compare. Rayla wasn’t a romantic type, but this rendered her speechless.  
   “Hello!” Claudia said with a slight laugh. She was a bit caught off guard by the way Rayla was staring at her, but something in the back of her mind was a little pleased. She waved this off with the excuse of “Rayla’s actually early, wow.”  
   “Hi.” Rayla said, unblinking. Claudia thought her little accent was sweet.  
   “Wanna sit?” Claudia was painfully aware of how ridiculous she sounded, and sitting on the edge of a rooftop so high it would kill you to jump even to the next floor wasn’t helping. Rayla took the seat next to her, and blankly stared at the horizon. It was truly beautiful, incomprehensible to a human eye. But a human eye could look, bathe in its beauty, but never understand it. That was the curse of humanity. Beauty deeper than beauty, but the depth unreachable. Beauty is impenetrable, and Rayla could only grasp a small portion of Claudia’s. Her hair, her laugh, the way her eyebrows quirk up when she finally understands something- that Rayla could understand. That Rayla could treasure, hold close to her heart.  
   Maybe the sunset had some sort of influence on her. Maybe she just felt a burst of confidence. But she heard herself speak up without any prior thought.  
   “I really, really like you.”  
   “Are you okay?”  
   Rayla flushed darker than anyone would have thought possible. Claudia blinked. Rayla was thankful they had said it at the same time, her voice was small compared to Claudia.  
   “You go first, my bad.” Claudia laughed. Rayla, somehow, shifted to a very deep blue.  
   “No, you can go first, mine is dumb.”  
   “Yours isn’t dumb! I think it’s physically impossible for you to be dumb. You’re too cute!” If Rayla could get visibly bluer, she would. “What’s got you so blue?” Claudia laughed at her pun.  
   “I- I don’t, it’s really, it’s really nothing. It’s nothing.” Rayla stuttered. Unfortunately, Claudia wasn’t convinced.  
   “Come on, spit it out! It really can’t be too bad.” Claudia smiled over at Rayla, who tried to hide her face in her vest.  
   “I… I like you. As more than a friend. I think. I guess. I don’t know.” Claudia was wide-eyed. Well, that explains some things. But it explained more for the raven-headed girl.    The bubbly feeling in her stomach when Rayla spoke, the way her face heated when she smiled and laughed? It was like pieces of a puzzle finally clicking together.  
   “I think I like you too, Rayla.” Claudia said in a noticeably quieter voice than before. She moved her hand to Rayla’s, the four fingers feeling unnatural but perfect at the same time. Rayla linked hands with her, and desperately hoped her hands were sweating much less than the back of her neck. Her heartbeat was quick, in a way both excited and nervous. The Sun lowered itself into the horizon, bathing the girls in rays of gold and orange and pink. A new chapter, marked by the beauty of existence.


End file.
